Covid Aid Papered Over Colorado Hospital’s Financial Shortcomings
By Markian Hawryluk
March 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Financial pitfalls at the nation’s highest-elevation hospital serve as a cautionary tale as rural hospitals emerge from the pandemic on shaky ground.
Photographer’s 12-Year Quest to Document Her Life Produces a Rich Portrait of Aging
By Judith Graham
October 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Twelve years ago, Marna Clarke was seized by a desire to examine what she looked like at age 70 — and to document the results. This creative project has sustained and engaged her since.
For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late
By Heidi de Marco
April 6, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Antonio Espinoza, a hospice nurse in Southern California, ministered to terminally ill patients, including those with covid. He tested positive for covid five days after getting his first dose of vaccine and died a few weeks later.
Community Paramedics Don’t Wait for an Emergency to Visit Rural Patients at Home
By Arielle Zionts
May 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Community paramedicine is expanding nationwide, including in rural areas, as health care providers, insurers, and state governments recognize its potential to improve health and save money.
If You’re Worried About the Environment, Consider Being Composted When You Die
By Bernard J. Wolfson
October 11, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The idea of human composting — to help restore a forest or grow flowers — may be a little off-putting to some, but it has many advantages over traditional-but-toxic methods of burial and cremation.
A Medical Cost-Sharing Plan Left Pastor With Most Of The Cost
By Bram Sable-Smith
December 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Jeff and Kareen King joined a medical cost-sharing plan advertised as a “refreshing non-insurance approach” to paying for health care. It had a big proviso: Preexisting conditions like Jeff’s heart condition were not fully covered for the first two years. He needed heart surgery after just 16 months.
New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process
By Bernard J. Wolfson
December 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctor’s assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.
Padres con hijos muy enfermos encuentran consuelo y esperanza en la ayuda de hospicio en el hogar
By Bernard J. Wolfson
September 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Si bien el cáncer es una de las principales enfermedades que afectan a los niños en cuidados paliativos, muchos otros tienen defectos congénitos raros, deficiencias neurológicas graves o deficiencias metabólicas poco comunes.
Aiding Her Dying Husband, a Geriatrician Learns the Emotional and Physical Toll of Caregiving
By Judith Graham
May 18, 2021
KFF Health News Original
When the covid pandemic hit, Dr. Rebecca Elon was thrust into a new role, primary caregiver for her severely ill husband and her elderly mother. “Reading about caregiving of this kind was one thing. Experiencing it was entirely different,” she says.
Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties
By Fred Schulte
November 14, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Private equity firms have shelled out almost $1 trillion to acquire nearly 8,000 health care businesses, in deals almost always hidden from federal regulators. The result: higher prices, lawsuits, and complaints about care.
Para este enfermero de cuidados paliativos, la vacuna de covid llegó demasiado tarde
By Heidi de Marco
April 6, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Cuando comenzó la pandemia, Antonio Espinoza, de 36 años, se dedicó a ayudar a los pacientes terminales. Hasta que él mismo cayó enfermo a cinco días de haberse dado la primera dosis de la vacuna contra covid.
Private Equity Ownership of Nursing Homes Triggers Capitol Hill Questions — And a GAO Probe
By Victoria Knight
April 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden decried these financial arrangements, which two members of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee had already asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate.
When Covid Deaths Are Dismissed or Stigmatized, Grief Is Mixed With Shame and Anger
By Brett Sholtis, WITF
September 16, 2021
KFF Health News Original
After their brother died, two sisters faced a barrage of misinformation, pandemic denialism and blaming questions. Grief experts say that makes covid-19 the newest kind of “disenfranchising death.”
To Families’ Dismay, Biden Nursing Home Reform Doesn’t View Them as Essential Caregivers
By Judith Graham
March 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Relatives who often provide vital caregiving for nursing home residents say the lockdowns during the covid pandemic showed the need for family members to visit in person with their loved ones. About a dozen states have passed laws guaranteeing that right, and California is considering one.
Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care
By Reed Abelson, The New York Times
December 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.
Death Is Anything but a Dying Business as Private Equity Cashes In
By Markian Hawryluk
September 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Investors are banking on increased demand in death care services as 73 million baby boomers near the end of their lives.
It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days
By Judith Graham
November 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Susan Massad created a “health team” after learning she had metastatic breast cancer. These friends and family members help her make difficult decisions and lead the most fulfilling life possible.
Viewpoints: Calling PTSD A Disorder Is Affecting Its Treatment; How Long Should One Stay In Hospice Care?
November 29, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle PTSD, hospice care, total abortion bans and racism in health care.
Countless Homebound Patients Still Wait for Covid Vaccine Despite Seniors’ Priority
By Judith Graham
February 22, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Health organizations have begun sending doctors and nurses to apartment buildings and private homes to vaccinate homebound seniors, but the efforts are slow and spotty.
Biden’s Blanket Statement — ‘No More Surprise Billing’ — Doesn’t Quite Cover It
By Victoria Knight
March 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The president used broad language to say that Americans no longer needed to worry about surprise bills, but there are exceptions to the new law that could cost unsuspecting consumers.